Heading 1

Earlier this week, Jeannette Jara won the Chilean left-wing presidential primary election. It is the first time in the country’s history that a broad political coalition made a member of the Communist Party their presidential candidate. Jara isn’t short on credentials: she served as the current left-wing President’s labor minister, winning favor among Chileans for increasing the minimum wage and instituting a 40-hour work week. 

‍

Despite her accolades, Jara’s victory was largely unexpected. The current President, Gabriel Boric, who can’t run for a second consecutive term, was expected to be succeeded by former Interior Minister Carolina Toha. Toha received nearly 28% of the vote. Jara received over 60%. Her win wasn’t just a surprise; it was a blowout. So how did the 51-year-old shock the Chilean political landscape and do something no other candidate has done? She found her audience on social media.

‍

Jara took to Facebook to address her more-than-27,000 followers, saying: “I humbly and with great responsibility accept the honor of having been chosen as the progressive candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.” She continued, “This victory belongs to you, to the youth, to the women, to the workers, to the families who dream of a more just Chile with more opportunities.” 

‍

‍

One of the aforementioned coalitions did more for Jara’s campaign than any other: the youth. Jara’s Facebook post garnered less than 8,000 engagements on the platform. It was one of 30 posts she sent out on Facebook in June. Her most-engaged post for the month received just less than 24,000 reactions, comments, and shares collectively. The same post that received nearly 8,000 engagements on Facebook earned over 62,000 on Instagram. Facebook, typically home to an aging demographic, makes up less than 5% of Jara’s online audience. The younger audiences found her primarily on Instagram and TikTok, where they helped build her Tia Jeannette identity and carried her to a primary victory.

‍

At the beginning of June, Jeannette Jara had 108,482 followers on her main account on Instagram. She finished the month with over 355,000. Suffice it to say that 227% is no ordinary growth. The second-best performer in the race grew about 10% on the platform during the same timeframe.

‍

‍

Jara’s growth on Instagram specifically is crucial in targeting the youth. 62% of Instagram users in Chile are aged 18-34. Jara found her voice on the platform. She connected with her younger audience, posting things like eye-catching campaign updates and slick, digitally-native videos from Pride parades. But her real key to success came from allowing her audience to help do the work for her. Fans could feel her personality in her content; it felt comforting and familiar—like family. Thus, the Tia Jeannette personality was born.

‍

Fans began referring to Jara by the moniker “spontaneously,” comparing her to “the classic, fun and approachable aunt. She's the aunt who dances cumbia for you at family lunch, listens without judgment, and makes sure you're eating well," one user wrote. When the Tia Jeannette identity began to emerge, Jara leaned into it, creating a separate Instagram page donning the nickname and calling herself “Chile’s Aunt” in the bio. Her profile is an anime, chibi-style depiction of the new presidential candidate. The cartoon version often appears with a shovel to remind the audience, “Jeannette is working for you.” She posts on-trend content aimed specifically at a younger audience.

‍

‍

Jara found a lot of the same success on TikTok. On her main page, she’s amassed over 1.7 million likes and has built an audience of over 120,000. She posts the standard campaign updates, policy videos, and interview snippets, as well as videos of her dancing, interacting with fans, and her outfits for the week.

‍

‍

She tapped into the Tia Jeannette personality on this platform as well, creating a second page that has an audience of over 17,000 and nearly 645,000 likes of its own. She uses the chibi cartoon, but she’s also created a video series titled “5 things all young people should hear.” She’s speaking directly to the youth. Jara also allows her youthful coalition to do some of the work for her. Fans create posts that organically show their love for the candidate and build on her maternally-adjacent personality. One fan created a video of a Mario-Kart-style race, where Tia Jeannette is speeding past chibi-style representations of her competitors.

‍

‍

What’s important to learn from Jeannette Jara’s online success is that she didn’t necessarily build an online movement. Rather, it helped build her. This in no way minimizes her ability as a candidate—she has a track record and a platform that clearly resonates amongst Chileans, but her ability to capture her authentic personality and put it online allowed her fans to run with it and build a story for her. Another important lesson is that the youth matters. A lot. This isn’t groundbreaking, but addressing them directly helped secure a large voting contingent for Jara. By early May, she had 28% of the aged 18-30 vote. That number began to snowball and helped result in the astronomical growth she experienced in June. 

‍

Despite that success, Jara still faces a crowded and formidable right-wing field ahead of the general election in November. Her experience as labor minister bolsters her resume but ties her to President Boric, who has suffered dismal approval ratings in the recent months. The right has a chance to capitalize on their opportunity to gain power, but they must create a winning social media strategy to match Jara’s.

‍

‍

What the left lacks in popularity, Jara makes up for in momentum. Right-wing candidates should respond with personality-driven content of their own. Let the voters see not only what they’d bring to the Presidential office but who they are. The youth vote will be crucial in deciding the victor in this race, and the youth are on social media. The blowout primary election win for Jara is a bellwether for the General Election: it will be won and lost online. Right-wing candidates should organize their messaging, create a digital grassroots following, and look to the lessons from Tia Jeannette on how to build a movement online.